– Pedro Daniel Oliveira
Nicole Azevedo Barros is director and teacher of Nicole Dance School, which works with children and adults in different ways. The group from Cape Verde took part in the International Youth Dance Festival. Speaking to O CLARIM, she said the doors to take great strides have opened in Macau, since she’s now considering to organize a similar event in her home country. Expanding the scope of education to the schools and colleges of the city of Praia, the capital, is on her wish list. Getting kids away from social exclusion is another goal.
You traveled to Macau in order to participate in the International Youth Dance Festival. How did the invitation to Nicole Dance School happen?
We were invited to participate by email. We didn’t really believe it would work. But we did the registration to give it a try. We then sent some videos and our record. We’ve been selected, and we came.
What feedback have you got from the audience?
It was awesome, even because we were very well received. We sometimes wondered if we were going to be at a good level, but the audience got our choreographies very well and really enjoyed it. The strongest countries also praised us, which was very good for us.
Any message you wanted to deliver with your show?
The choreographies tried to tell a little the history of Cape Verde, from the volcanic origin, from which the islands came, to the colonists and to slavery, which ended up being the fusion of the Cape Verdean, even with other countries. The three performances had a historical continuity. In our group, we joined dancers from Cape Verde, from [the city of] Praia, so we could come here to perform. And since the School is very new, and we mainly work with children, we had to go to the “hunt” of dancers. Each had its own style. The choreographed were within Afro, urban dance, classical, contemporary and traditional. We ended up making a fusion of everything.
Did you have the sense of Eastern and Western cultural crossroads in Macau?
Honestly, I did not feel it. I thought there were more people speaking Portuguese, and we could communicate better. It was a surprise for us, because we arrived in Macau, a territory that had already been Portuguese, and those we met only spoke Chinese or English. There were very few people speaking Portuguese. But we were very well received. There’s this gentleman from the festival’s organization, he also speaks a little of Portuguese…
How do you see the local cultural reality?
I really enjoyed the part in which they value folklore and the traditional. What I saw out there is that there are not many international dance festivals of this genre. Here [in Macau] it’s a way of uniting cultures. We got here and we’re all talking the same language, because in dance we don’t even need to speak English, Portuguese or French. We just need to be at a dance workshop. It’s a way of unifying ourselves, seeking the culture that’s being forgotten.
How do you feel about the territory?
I already carry many ideas with me. With the contacts I made, I am thinking of organizing an international folkloric festival in Cape Verde next year. My idea is to take there some of what I saw and learned here. It’s an idea, I’m sure it will work out. But unfortunately we do not have much support. It’s hard to go forward this way. The event in Macau was for us the first open door to many works to come.
Tell us a little about the Nicole Dance School…
The School was established six years ago. It is in Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. We work more the classical ballet. We also have other styles — contemporary dance, traditional dance, hip hop, oriental fusion, Afro-Brazilian, kaizen dance, capoeira, ballet fitness, ballroom dancing, and so on. I have ten classes of classical ballet. And we have other teachers of other styles.
Where did your love for dance come from?
I studied Civil Engineering (laughter) in Brazil, but in Cape Verde I did ten years of rhythmic gymnastics. When I went to study in Brazil, I did five years of dance in one of the companies there — I did the classical ballet and the contemporary one. In the United States I did a course of Visual Arts, and I also did ballroom dancing and musical theater.
Brazil, Cape Verde and the United States… Is Portugal also in your life?
Every year I go to Portugal, where I take the courses of the Conservatory. Last year I attended the National Conservatory Dance School, in Lisbon. This year in May I attended the International Conservatory of Ballet and Dance Annarella Sanchez, in Leiria. I try to go overseas once or twice a year to train myself a little more. The lack we feel in Cape Verde is of dance teachers and instructors. Last year I took my teacher from Brazil, this year I will try to take other teachers.
How’s your work in Cape Verde?
I work with children from two years old to adulthood. At the moment there are 250 students. I try to recruit kids and teens a bit unaided. With dance they can change dramatically. Some are at risk [of social exclusion.] In these cases, we do more [to help them] by “closed doors.” Without other children or other parents knowing, we choose these children, the ones who have a future, and we recruit them, and give them equipment. They don’t pay any monthly fee, and we still provide them free transportation. The most important thing is for them to attend classes and follow School rules without having to pay.
And what’s on your wishlist?
Classes function as if they were extra-curricular. We are trying to engage dance classes to another level, even leaving our physical space and going to teach classes at schools and colleges. Starting next semester, my idea is to make a clear split — I will have the Nicole Dance School and the Nicole Dance Company. And I’m going to make an agreement with the parents, because if their children want to pursue a professional career they’ll have to take dance classes more seriously.
Regarding sponsorships…
The biggest problem is getting enough resources to teach in the best way. I work hard, because I have to do so. I would like to have another structure, but it would be necessary someone to support me, so I could be more focused on my little ones. If you can get an overseas professional to work in the School… For this we need money, we need partners, an entity or some philanthropist to help us grow. Be it from Cape Verde or overseas.
Follow
